MLB: Very Early 2017 Playoff Predictions

AL East

1) Boston Red Sox

2) Toronto Blue Jays (WC #1)

3) New York Yankees

4) Baltimore Orioles

5) Tampa Bay Rays

Arguably the best division in baseball, the AL East will see repeating champions since the Yankees did it in 2011-2012. The Boston Red Sox aren’t losing much this offseason outside of David Ortiz. Aaron Hill and Brad Ziegler are the biggest losses, but they can easily be replaced. Hanley Ramirez seems destined to take over the DH role in Boston, and the Red Sox could even experiment with Pablo Sandoval at first. If Sandoval can return to his Giants form, the Red Sox may challenge the Cubs as the most complete team in baseball. If not, the team is still in great shape. With a great pitching staff and an insane amount of young depth, the Red Sox will find success yet again.

As for the Blue Jays, it seems as if the losses of Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion will hit them hard. However, that won’t be the case for Toronto, as their ball club is still extremely talented. Led by a young pitching staff, the Blue Jays may see themselves win baseball games differently in 2017. No longer are the Blue Jays winning slug-fests. Instead they will become an even better pitching team, already ranked sixth. With the signing of another outfielder, maybe Yoenis Cespedes or Dexter Fowler, the Blue Jays might even challenge the Red Sox.

However, nobody should rule out the New York Yankees. The Yankees are extremely young, and still have the cash to haul in a big name. Also, It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Yankees sign Mark Trumbo or re-sign Aroldis Chapman. Their young talent will blend with a potentially big offseason to create a playoff contender.

The Orioles are losing too many bats and will find themselves falling behind the rest of the pack. Likely still a .500 team, the loss of power and the lack of depth in the rotation will hurt the Orioles as the season progresses. As for the Rays, they may be a better team if they didn’t have to play in the AL East.